ALESON
SHIPPING LINES

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers about booking, payment, boarding, baggage, rebooking and refunds.

Booking online

All our routes between Zamboanga City and Isabela and Lamitan (Basilan), Jolo and Siasi (Sulu), and Bongao (Tawi-Tawi), in both directions. See Ferry Routes for each route's schedule.
Sailings to and from Sandakan are priced in Malaysian ringgit and cannot be paid for online. Please book them at one of our ticketing offices.
No. You can book as a guest with your email address and mobile number. If you sign in or create an account, your bookings are kept in one place under My Bookings and your details are filled in for you next time.
Online sales for a sailing stay open until its scheduled departure time, as long as there is space. They close earlier if the vessel leaves ahead of schedule or the sailing is cancelled.
Boarding closes 30 minutes before departure, so book in time to reach the boarding area by then. If you book too late to board, you have missed the sailing.
Up to 5 adults per booking, one-way or round trip. Each adult can also bring one infant on their lap. For a larger group, book at one of our ticketing offices, or make another booking once the first is paid.
Yes. After you choose a sailing, you pick each passenger's seat on the vessel's seat map. Your seats are held for 10 minutes while you pay. If payment is not completed in that time, the hold expires and the seats are released to other passengers.
Seats are confirmed on a first-paid, first-served basis. A booking is only confirmed once payment goes through.
Cabins and suites are single-gender rooms. A cabin can be shared by male and female passengers only if everyone sharing it agrees. To agree, tick "OK to share a mixed-gender cabin" for each passenger when you enter their details.
Enter each passenger's name exactly as it appears on their valid government-issued ID, and check the summary before you pay.
Tickets are non-transferable, and a passenger's name cannot be changed once the booking is paid.

Fares, fees and payment

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QR Ph: scan the code with GCash, Maya or any QR Ph banking app.
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Card: Visa or Mastercard.
Payments are processed by Asia United Bank (AUB) through its PayMate gateway. We never receive or store your full card number, expiry date or CVV.
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A convenience fee of ₱10 per booking. This is charged once per booking, however many passengers or sailings it includes.
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For Visa or Mastercard only, a card fee of 2.7% of the fare plus ₱5. QR Ph has no card fee.
Both fees are shown separately before you pay. They are not refunded in any case, including when you get a refund, when you rebook, or when we cancel or delay a sailing. Bookings made at a ticketing office have neither fee.
Fares include VAT. Unless a fare says otherwise, terminal fees, port charges, wharfage, environmental fees and other government charges may be collected separately at the port.
No. If the payment page says your payment failed, no charge was made. If your seat hold has not expired, your trip and seats are still saved, so you can try again or choose another way to pay.
If money left your account but you did not get a confirmation email, first check your spam folder. Then email [email protected] with the date, the amount and the email address you booked with. If you end up paying twice for the same booking, the second payment is refunded.
No. Discounted fares are sold only at our ticketing offices, where staff can check the passenger's ID. Online, children aged 2 and over book an adult fare.
If you buy a discounted fare, the passenger must show the valid original ID for that discount when boarding. If they cannot, the discount is cancelled and the difference must be paid before boarding.
An infant under 2 years old on the day of travel rides free on an adult's lap and does not get a seat. Add them as an infant when you search so they appear on the passenger list. Each adult can carry one infant.
A child who has turned 2 by the travel date needs an adult ticket.

Before you travel

After you pay, we email you a confirmation with a link to your booking. You can also open Manage Booking at any time and enter your booking reference with the last name or email used for the booking. From there you can view your trip and print or save each passenger's boarding pass. If you booked while signed in, the booking is also under My Bookings.
If the confirmation email never arrived, check your spam folder first. To get it again, open your booking in Manage Booking and choose Resend confirmation email. It always goes to the email address on the booking.
There is no check-in. Go straight to the boarding area. Boarding closes 30 minutes before departure, and passengers who are not on board by then will not be carried.
Each passenger must bring:
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their ticket, printed or on a phone, and
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a valid government-issued photo ID.
Minors also need a birth certificate or school ID, and proof that the adult travelling with them is responsible for them. For international sailings, each passenger also needs a passport valid for at least 6 months after the travel date, and any visa or entry permit required.
Each ticket's QR code can be scanned only once, at the boarding gate. A ticket counts as used as soon as it is scanned. After that, it cannot be scanned again, refunded, rebooked or cancelled. Do not let anyone else photograph, copy or scan it.
Baggage is limited by number of pieces. There is no weight limit.
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Domestic sailings: up to 3 pieces per passenger.
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International sailings: up to 2 pieces per passenger.
We do not accept extra pieces, even for a fee. Every bag must be something you can carry and stow safely yourself. You cannot bring firearms (except with valid permits declared in advance), explosives, fireworks, flammable or toxic substances, illegal drugs, or live animals unless arranged in advance. Keep cash, valuables, medicines and important documents with you.

Changes, refunds and cancellations

Yes. You can rebook an unused ticket to any other departure on the same route that has not sailed yet, if there is space. Rebooking is done at any of our ticketing offices.
A rebooking costs a surcharge on the fare you paid:
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10% if you ask before the scheduled departure on your ticket
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40% if you ask on or after it
If the new sailing costs more, you also pay the difference. If it costs less, the difference is refunded to you separately. Once you are rebooked, your old ticket and QR code stop working.
To change to a different route, request a refund and buy a new ticket.
An unused ticket can be refunded within 15 days after its scheduled departure. Refunds are processed at our ticketing offices. Please bring:
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your ticket (printed or on your phone) and booking reference,
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proof of payment, and
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a valid government-issued ID of the passenger named on the ticket.
A surcharge on the fare paid is deducted: 10% if you ask before the scheduled departure, 40% on or after it. The online convenience and card fees are not refunded. We may take up to 10 days to verify a ticket. After approval, card and online payments are returned to the original payment method within 30 banking days, depending on your bank.
Refunds for Sandakan tickets have extra document requirements. See Section 8.3 of the Terms and Conditions.
Yes, if your ticket was never scanned at the boarding gate. You can request a refund within 15 days after the scheduled departure, or rebook onto a later sailing on the same route. In both cases the surcharge is 40% of the fare paid, because the request is made after the departure.
If we cancel or delay a sailing, you choose between:
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free rebooking to the next available sailing, or
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a full refund of the fare with no surcharge and no 15-day deadline.
This applies whatever the reason, including bad weather and Coast Guard sailing bans, as provided by MARINA Circular No. 2018-07. If the sailing was cancelled because of weather or a sailing ban, government charges we have already paid and cannot recover are deducted from the refund. The online convenience and card fees are not refunded.
We will try to reach affected passengers using the email and mobile number given at booking, so please make sure they are correct.

Account and help

On the log in page, choose Forgot your password? and enter your email address. We will send you a link to set a new password.
Email our Customer Service at [email protected] and include your booking reference. We answer enquiries from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM daily, and aim to reply within 3 business days.
Our head office is at 172–174 Veterans Avenue, Zamboanga City.
Can't find your answer? Email us at [email protected] with your booking reference.
See also
Terms and Conditions
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